How to save a wet book

Flooded basements. Wet books. Musty books. Not good. As water receded from Chicago's weekend flood, many residents were left drying out their homes and household items, including their books.

Here's how to save a wet book:

First, get the book to a dry place as soon as possible. Blot the cover and pages with paper towels. Don't wipe the cover or pages as the pulp fibers are soft and can easily shred or fall apart when wet. Just press firmly with the book on a solid (hopefully covered) surface.

Once paper towels no longer seem to be absorbing moisture from the book, place the book upright with pages fanned out and allow to air dry for several days, ideally in a well-lit and airy spot. For only slightly damp books, this is often sufficient to dry the book and avoid mildew and mold from forming in the book's binding.

For a more thorough effort, allow the book to air dry (or mostly air dry) upright, then with the book lying flat and open to a wet page, place a tissue over the page and press with a low iron. Repeat with each wet page. After ironing pages sufficiently, allow the book to stand upright and open for several more days to ensure the binding also dries completely. The iron method also works to smooth warped pages from books that have been allowed to air dry.

However, if the book is very valuable I recommend seeking out the help of an archival preservation expert. Such expertise can be costly, but such experts can access chemical solutions, tools and other weapons to save important books.